


Letting Go

by Taeilwooz



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Drama, Falling In Love, Friendship, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Moving On, One sided, Romance, Slice of Life, Swearing, Unrequited Love, kinda slow burn ?, possible cheating, slight cigarette use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-09 20:48:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19483738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taeilwooz/pseuds/Taeilwooz
Summary: Mark is in love with his best friend Taeil. His chance at love quickly ends as he watches his friend fall in love with someone else right before his eyes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally started a story called From Now, but I did not like how I was writing it, so I decided to start rewriting it. This is basically the rewritten ver, but its pretty different. 
> 
> There's a lot more to the story than just what's said in the summary, so hold on tight.

Mark sat on the bench with his feet up and knees pulled up to his chest. He laid his head down on his knees and watched his best friend Taeil run around the track doing laps. It was the first day of their last year of high school and the two already got in trouble in PE for pushing each other. However, Taeil ended up being the only one doing laps because he decided to blame the whole situation on himself. What kind of dumbass would blame himself just to do more laps than he would have if Mark had also got the punishment as well.

It was Taeil’s fifth lap and he had just reached where Mark was again. He smiled at Mark as he jogged over, collapsing to the floor in front of him. He laid on the ground breathing heavily one arm spread out while the other laid on his chest. Mark was quiet for a few seconds just staring at Taeil, taking in this picture of him as he laid on the ground. The last time they were in this kind of situation was about 2 years ago, before Marks feelings for the other even existed.

He remembered how he had bickered with Taeil as he came panting over to Mark’s side. Spraying water from his water bottle at the other and joking about how he had covered for him. But it was different now. Mark wanted to apologize and yell at Taeil for covering for him, tell him they should’ve done it together. Of course he couldn’t. Mark sat up on the bench and grabbed his backpack. He reached inside and pulled out a water bottle. He looked at it for a few seconds, then called out to Taeil, “Here,” he tossed the bottle over and Taeil lazily caught it

“Thanks,” Taeil breathed out, then sat up from his laying position, to take a drink.

Mark watched as Taeil took gulps of the water, and he couldn’t keep himself from staring at his neck as he swallowed. He slightly bit his lip and blinked a few times, but immediately stopped when Taeil stopped drinking and looked over. “Two more laps to go,” he said then took a big sigh, before standing up.

Mark let out a small laugh, “Want me to run with you, I could get some cardio in,” he nodded.

“No, no Mark,” Taeil said as he walked over to the bench Mark was sitting on, “I can do it by myself, I didn’t cover for you for no reason,” Mark looked up at the other as he came close to him and found his heart racing as Taeil reached out and ruffled his black hair with a smile. Within seconds Taeil was off again.

One lap in and Taeil was already starting to sweat again. This time Mark paying more close attention, swallowed as he felt bad for finding Taeil so attractive in such a shitty situation. He leaned back on the bench and tried thinking about when his feelings for Taeil had started. He couldn’t quite remember an exact reason or time but he was sure it slowly started around the middle of summer about a year ago. It probably wasn’t until school started up again that he came to terms with his feelings.

It was probably all thanks to that one night they went camping and forgot to bring a tent so they had to sleep on the back of the truck with a few blankets and a small lantern. Mark was so afraid of the dark, and being out in the open that he didn’t think he’d survive the night. However, the way Taeil comforted him and told him stories as they looked up at the stars might’ve been what triggered it. It was such a cliche situation that it made Mark feel sick just thinking about the fact that he probably fell for Taeil because of some damn stars and being afraid of the dark.

Before Mark knew it, Taeil was done and was slowly walking his way over to him. He plopped down next to Mark and Put his arm over his shoulders putting all of his weight down on Mark as he caught his breath. “Never am I, covering for you, again,” he took breaths in between every few words.

“I never said you had to,” Mark said lightly, then slightly nudged Taeil. Mark smiled to himself as he felt the warmth of Taeil on his shoulder. He didn’t care how sweaty the other was, he just felt happy giving the other some support to rest on.

“Do I stink?” Taeil questioned glancing up at Mark, “I’m surprised you didn’t make a smell joke, even though I can run a hundred laps and still not stink,” he joked, then sat up from Mark.

Mark let out a small laugh, “You actually do,” he joked.

Taeil stood up from the bench, “Shut up,” he pushed Mark on the shoulder, “Now let's go,” he reached out a hand to help Mark up.

Mark took ahold of Taeil’s hand, and for a second he thought Taeil wasn’t going to let go. Their grasp lasted longer than it should have, but it might’ve been his imagination. It was most defiantly just his imagination.

The two walked up to Mark's house, and stopped before heading inside, “Are you sure you don’t want to go home?” Mark asked as he turned to face Taeil, “You’d probably much rather go home and take a shower?”

Taeil laughed, “Who said I couldn’t take a shower at your place?” Taeil reached his arm around Mark’s shoulder and started dragging the other towards his front door before he could even say anything.

Mark huffed as he sat on the edge of his bed. He could hear the sound of the shower from his bathroom and couldn’t help from imagining things. He pulled his knees up to where his feet were supported by the sideboard of his bed and he closed his ears with his palms as he placed his head straight down on his knees. He was trying so hard to ignore the shower Taeil was taking, and trying not to think dirty thoughts. Heck, his feelings for Taeil were at its peak right now and imagining him taking a shower really didn’t help.

After humming to himself for a bit, while hiding his face in his knees he heard the bathroom door crack open. He probably swung his head up way to quickly for someone who shouldn’t be making his feelings obvious. There stood Taeil in the doorway with his towel around his neck while dressed in some shorts and a t-shirt Mark let him barrow. Mark watched closely as the water dripped from Taeil's hair down to his collarbone. The sight of Taeil right out of the shower was defiantly something Mark never wanted to see, because he knew he’d be affected by it. He looked so hot.

Mark was quickly brought out of his thoughts when Taeil suddenly spoke, “Can I use your toothbrush to brush my teeth,” he laughed.

Mark’s jaw dropped, in disgust, “Why! Just do that when you get home,” He reached for a pillow on his bed then threw it over at Taeil.

Taeil let out a laugh then walked over to the bed, “I’m joking,” he said then sat at the foot of Mark’s bed facing away from Mark. He grabbed the remote and turned on the tv. “Anything you wanna watch?” He turned to face Mark for a few seconds. Mark kept quiet because he couldn’t help but stare at Taeil’s hair dripping. He felt like he was doing it on purpose, like who doesn’t dry their hair more than that? Maybe he was way too concentrated because Taeil seemed to notice. “Is there something in my hair?” Taeil said as he tilted his head slightly.

Mark’s eyes widened in shock realizing he was caught starring, but what did he expect. Without even realizing it he had reached over and grabbed the towel on Taeil's neck and threw it over his head, “dry your hair some more why don’t you,” he stood up from the bed after doing so.

Taeil slowly pulled the towel off his face feeling confused, and pouted his lip, “If you say so.” He took the towel and ever so slightly ruffled his hair with the towel, hardly even doing anything before placing it around his neck again.

Mark sighed feeling slightly frustrated, “Are you serious?” He said, then walked over in front of Taeil and grabbed the towel off his neck again. He stood in front of him while Taeil looked up perplexed. Mark was preoccupied with his frustration to even realize what he was doing. He took the towel and started ruffling Taeil’s hair with it from side to side, doing his best to dry as much hair as he possibly could. However, it only took him a few seconds to find himself flustered in the face of the other. Taeil was looking straight up at him while they were only inches apart. Mark felt his cheeks immediately get red, and he panicked so he pushed Taeil back onto the bed, then quickly walked away to his bathroom.

Taeil just laid back on Mark’s bed feeling confused. He was defiantly taken aback by how Mark was acting at that moment, but what the heck just happened? Now Mark was gone, and the room was empty. Taeil turned towards the bathroom door and debated whether to say anything. Did something happen?

Mark paced the small bathroom back and forth. He wasn’t sure if Taeil noticed, or what if he did? He was more shocked realizing he had just helped dry Taeil’s freken hair when it wasn’t even necessary. Why did he have to be so bothered by his freken hair? Before Mark could even collect his thoughts he suddenly heard Taeil call out his name.

“Mark? Is everything okay...in there?” He seemed hesitant.

Mark glanced all around the room panicking, “I uh,” He started off, “I needed to use the bathroom, sorry!” That was a great cover-up he thought, was it really though?

Taeil didn’t say anything in reply which made Mark even more worried. He paced the bathroom a few more times before taking one big breath before exiting. When he exited, Taeil was nowhere to be seen. Mark wanted to collapse right then and there. Did he leave? Did he notice? Is that why he left? Mark felt so shitty, if he had just left Taeil’s damn wet hair alone, none of this would have happened. He sat back down on his bed and took a deep sigh. He checked his phone, then turned to the tv that was still on. “He didn’t even bother to turn off the tv, how rude,” he mumbled under his breath.

However his bedroom door suddenly swung open, and there stood Taeil. He held a few familiar snacks, probably from his kitchen, in his arms. He smiled brightly as he glanced from the snacks to Mark, “Sorry, I looted your pantry,” then laughed before tossing the snacks on Mark’s bed.

A smile grew on Marks face feeling a sigh of relief watching the way Taeil acted. He seemed like his normal self not phased by anything.

The two snacked and watched tv for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day the two had met up and started on their way to school. They weren’t on the best timing schedule and would most likely barely make it to class on time. They didn’t really care, well maybe Taeil didn’t really care, but Mark on the other hand slightly had a bad feeling in his stomach. 

Mark strutted quickly across the gravel floor as they walked and Taeil was slightly behind the other, “Mark,” Taeil called out, reaching his hand up, “slow down, I promise we won’t be late,” he said catching up next to Mark. 

Mark held the straps of his backpack and turned to face Taeil who was now next to him, “Who said I cared if we were late,” Mark lied slightly lowering his gaze. However, he slowed down to match Taeil’s pace. He hated that Taeil knew almost exactly what he was feeling. He hated that he couldn’t help but listen to Taeil, and follow his lead. 

“Oh sure, You are like this all the time,” Taeil laughed, he reached his arm around Mark’s shoulder to pull the other closer. 

Everything was fine as they walked. Mark smiled to himself feeling Taeil’s warmth against his, but suddenly the sound of laughter was heard from behind, then the sound of tires skidding against the gravel, when out of nowhere two people on a bike pass by. They passed so closely by the two that they almost caused them to fall to the side. Mark couldn’t quite see who was the one peddling the bike, but he sure looked on the taller. The one holding himself on the back was a thinner more lankier student with blond hair. 

Mark was kinda shocked, and to be honest he was angry. He glared as they went by but the blonde on the back just smiled as if nothing happened. 

Taeil was shocked at first, he swore the two of them were about to eat shit, but they somehow caught themselves as the bike went by. He made eye contact with the boy on the back of the bike, and he found himself oddly intrigued. Something about his smile, something about the way the boy didn’t seem to care, interested him. He watched as the bike slowly disappeared in the distance. 

“Taeil?” Mark waved his hand in the others face, “you okay?”

Taeil pulled out of his trance looked at Mark slightly dazed, almost as if nothing happened, “Uh, yeah I’m good.”

“That was fucking rude,” Mark scoffed as he rolled his eyes. 

Taeil let out a small laugh, then pulled Mark forward continuing the direction to school. 

The two thankfully made it to class on time. They walked to the back and quickly sat down in their seats next to their classmate Lucas. Lucas was preoccupied with a game he was playing on his phone, and hardly looked up at the two when they sat down. The guy was obsessed with his games. If he wasn’t at home playing games on his game console, or PC he was out playing games on his phone. They weren’t to close with Lucas, but they knew him from last year for apparently being one of the best gamers in the gamers club. No wonder his grades were bad and seemed like he had no friends. He was way too obsessed. 

“Hey Lucas?” Mark called out to him, Lucas hummed in reply still focusing on his phone. “You joining the gamers club again this year?” He asked.

Lucas stopped for a second, then paused his game. Mark was kinda shocked that he stopped his game because he usually wouldn’t bother. Did talking about the gamers club excite him too much? He didn’t look excited though. Lucas looked up, “No, I’m actually not,” he said, almost sadly.

However, before Mark could ask him why the teacher came in. He wondered what that was about.

The lunch bell rang signaling Taeil and Mark out of the class asap leaving their classmate Lucas behind. Mark immediately felt bad because he was planning on talking about the gaming club thing with Lucas. Something just didn’t sit right with him about that. Mark promised himself he’d ask about it another time if he got the chance. 

The two stopped by Mark’s locker because he needed to put something away. Mark pulled out the little piece of paper that had his locker combination on it and started opening his locker. He didn’t quite remember it since they had just gotten their lockers yesterday. It was annoying how they had to get new lockers each year. Once he got the locker open he started putting things away and glanced over at Taeil as he listened to him talking about random shit. 

The hallway was decently quite as most students were already in the lunchroom at this point, but suddenly the hallway got louder. Mark could hear fast footsteps behind him and the squeak of sneakers against the polished floors. Then with a sudden “Watch out!” Being yelled from behind someone rammed into the back of him with a hard push. Mark could see Taeil’s eyes widen in shock as he was slammed against the lockers, then falling to the floor. What kind of shity day is this, was all he could think of as he fell and hit the floor. 

Mark held his elbow as he moved in an upright position ready to look up at the asshole who just pushed him. It was the blonde lanky dude on the bike from this morning. How ironic, Mark thought. He had one of the most apologetic looks on his face and was continuously bowing at Mark, saying he was so sorry over and over again. Mark didn’t know how to feel, he was mainly confused and a bit annoyed. 

Taeil was so shocked and he couldn’t believe what just happened. It all happened so fast, he almost couldn’t comprehend. He glanced at Mark worried, then at the perpetrator. He was surprised to see the boy on the bike from this morning and instead of helping Mark, he found himself fixated on the boy in front of him apologizing. 

Mark was about to look at Taeil to signal the other to help him up. He was actually surprised he didn’t help him already, however before he could do so, someone else appeared. He stood tall, his hair a dark brown, parted in the middle as a single earring hung from his left ear. He also had a small bandage on the upper part of one of his cheek. 

The taller guy squatted down next to Mark and looked at him with a worried look, “Are you okay? I’m so sorry my friends clumsy. That looked like a pretty hard hit,” the taller said.

Mark kinda glared realizing it was the guy who was in control of the bike from this morning, this was probably more his fault than the guy who actually pushed him. “I’m fine,” Mark said lowly. 

“Here, let me help you up,” the guy reached out his hand. Mark was hesitant at first, but he took it in the end and was back on his feet. 

“Are you hurt?” The taller said and grabbed ahold of Mark’s sleeve. 

Mark immediately pulled it away from the other, but let out a noise as he felt a bit of pain in his arm. He had landed right on his elbow, so he knew that must have been the cause of the pain. 

The blonde started panicking seeing that Mark was hurt, but the taller calmed him down. Mark really didn’t want to be in this situation any longer. All he wanted to do was go to the nurse's office and get an ice pack. He glanced at Taeil, who was distracted looking at the blonde and rolled his eyes. He turned back and let out a small sigh, “I’m fine, so please don’t worry. I’m gunna go to the nurses and get an ice pack, I’m good,” Mark nodded towards the blonde. Mark glanced back at Taeil and tapped him on the shoulder, “Let's go.”

The two started to turn away, but the taller guy called out, “Wait, are you sure-“ Mark interrupted and told him he was fine for the third time, but he didn’t listen and walked in front of him. The blond called out to him, “Johnny, I think we should just let them go.”

“Hold on Jungwoo,” he said glancing over, then back at Mark. He looked worried and reached in his pocket for something. He pulled out a handkerchief, “Your lip is bleeding, you must have bit your lip when you fell,” he raised up the handkerchief at the same time Mark raised his hand to his lip now realizing a stinging feeling. Johnny stopped the other and pulled his hand down, and wiped the handkerchief against Mark’s lips. 

Mark's eyes widened at the touch, but then squinted in pain again feeling the stinging sensation. He couldn’t even think of what to say, because of how taken aback he was, but then Johnny spoke again, “Better get a bandaid for that that,” then nodded gesturing for Mark to go ahead and head to the nurse's office. 

Before Mark could even process everything, they had left. He glanced at Taeil who seemed distracted. 

“Taeil? What the hell just happened?” Mark squinted his eyes at Taeil. 

“I Uh, I don’t know." He said blinking.

Mark shrugged, “Let's just go to the nurse's office.”

The first week of school went by pretty quickly. Mark somehow continued to forget about asking Lucas about his gaming club thing, and probably would for a while. They hardly ever talked, and he never felt he had a good opportunity to. He was also recovering quite well from the incident that had occurred and his elbow was pretty much fine at this point. He was happy and in a good mood. He even planned on having a movie night with Taeil at the end of the week, which would mean Taeil would spend the night. Mark imagined Taeil spending the night even though it happened many times before and it would end the same as every other time he slept over. Mark on his bed, while Taeil slept on the floor. 

It was the middle of the lecture when suddenly someone came in with a note, and the note called for Mark. Mark was confused, but the moment he read the note as he left the classroom he understood. The nurse was calling him in to check up on his elbow. 

He walked past a few buildings then decided to go a faster way to the nurse's office. He cut some corners and went behind a building. He was about to turn another corner when suddenly he heard some voices. He looked to see where they were coming from and down the back of one of the classrooms he could see some students who were most likely cutting class. Shit, they were even smoking. He was about to ignore it but one of them turned and Marks eyes widened noticing who it was. It was Johnny, and the other had to be Jungwoo. 

Mark moved to another corner to get a better look, and he was surprised to see another student sitting on the ground in a hunched position. He had dark red hair, and part of it was tied up into a bun. Mark didn’t think much of it at first, that it until Jungwoo stood in front of the red-haired guy and started kicking dirt at him. What the fuck? Mark thought as he watched what looked like bullying. At this point, Mark really wished he was brave enough to go over and stand up for the poor guy, but he wasn’t, so he fled the scene before he could see any more. If anything he’d tell the nurse as soon as he got there. 

Wow what pieces of shit, Mark thought to himself as he continued to make his way to the nurse's office. That Jungwoo guy acted as if he was so innocent, but was an asshole in real life. Maybe that push in the hallway wasn’t an accident this whole time. Mark started fuming. 

Jungwoo looked to Johnny with an eager smile, “You got the stuff,” he raised an eyebrow. 

Johnny nodded, then pulled out the only two cigarettes he was able to scrounge up, “here, but you know this is only for special occasions,” he pulled out his lighter.

“Yeah, of course. Its for Yuta’s and Doyoungs 3 month anniversary,” Jungwoo laughed as he looked down at Yuta sitting alone. 

Yuta took ahold of some dirt in his hand and tossed it up at Jungwoo, “Shut up, what's the point of celebrating if Doyoung isn’t even here. Plus look at you two,” he squinted as he pointed, “You only have two, and I know you aren’t even going to give me one.” Both Jungwoo and Johnny had the cigarettes in their mouth at this point, Jungwoo letting out a small cough. 

“You want some,” Jungwoo reached out his cigarette to Yuta. 

Yuta gave him an annoyed smile, then grabbed some more dirt. But before he could throw it, Jungwoo stood in front of him and started kicking dirt at him as well. Yuta didn’t even fight back, he was too sad at this point. 

“Why didn’t Doyoung even come anyway?” Jungwoo asked. 

“It's not that he didn’t come, he hasn’t answered me since we fought the other day,” Yuta dropped his head in defeat.

“Awe shit, you fucked up big time, this time,” Jungwoo giggled. 

Suddenly Johnny tapped Jungwoo on the shoulder, “Shit, guys. I think someone was watching us. I’ll be right back,” he said, then passed his cigarette to Jungwoo before leaving. 

There was a sudden tap on Marks shoulder, and before he could even process anything he was pulled back to face the person who appeared. It was Johnny. His immediate response was to put up his fists, because after watching what he just encountered behind the classroom maybe those two were actually bullies, and Mark was not about that right now.

Johnny let out a small laugh, then reached out to Mark, but Mark backed away, “What's wrong?”

“Just leave me alone,” Mark said, then turned away. 

“Did you see us?” Johnny said, causing Mark to stop, “You aren’t going to tell on us, right?”

Mark slowly turned back feeling a bit of anger build up. How could he not tell on them, they were literally bullying some poor guy. The smoking he could care less about. What they did to their bodies didn’t matter to him. “What if I do?” Mark mumbled. 

Johnny let out a groan, “Please, we hardly do it. Plus we’ve already got a few strikes for other things, we can’t be getting any more strikes,” Johnny was begging at the end.

Mark squinted angrily, “Just because you hardly ever bully someone, doesn’t mean its okay. That’s fucked up, and shouldn’t be a thing in the first place.”

Johnny had no idea what Mark was talking about. He was utterly confused. When did they ever bully anyone? “Uh, bully? We never bullied anyone.” Johnny said glancing at Mark confused. 

“I saw, well your friend, Jungwoo?” Mark tried his best remembering what Johnny had called him earlier, “He was kicking dirt at that guy. I left before I could see it get worse,” Mark admitted. 

Johnny slightly started laughing, then starting laughing hysterically thinking about what Mark thought he saw. He tried calming himself down to explain because he could see Mark was getting angrier as the seconds went by, “I think you’re mistaken,” he laughed one last time, “That’s our friend Yuta, they were just fucking around.” Mark was now confused just as much as Johnny was earlier, “trust me, we are not bullies. We may not be the best people, but we defiantly don’t bully. I was more worried you'd tell on us about, you know the smoking,” Johnny got nervous at the end. 

Mark tilted his head still trying to process everything Johnny was telling him, “So you aren’t bullies? And you don’t want me to tell on you about the smoking?” he slowing nodded his head collecting his thoughts. Johnny nodded with a sharp smile. 

“Look if you don’t believe me, we can go back and ill show you that Yuta is our friend, and it was all a misunderstanding,” he shrugged. 

Mark thought about, but to be completely honest he didn’t really want to be associated with them any more than he already was so he decided to just stick with believing him, “No, uh its fine. I won’t tell on you about the smoking, so don’t worry. I uh, gotta go,” Mark said then turned away. 

Johnny called out before Mark got very far, “Hey what’s your name by the way?”

Mark stopped, debating whether to tell him, but decided not to and continued on his way and before he entered the building he needed to enter Johnny called out once more, “Thanks! I trust you won’t tell!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I need to start picking up the pace, we have a lot to come.


	3. Chapter 3

Mark sighed as he looked over at Taeil in the seat next to him. It was the middle of the week and the class was just assigned a project due the next Monday. It wasn’t a group project or anything, it was more of a research and write an essay project. Everyone was assigned a topic and for the rest of the class period, which was about 20 min before lunch, they’d have time to do some research on the small laptops that were provided for the class. 

Taeil got up and grabbed a laptop for both Mark and himself. He placed Marks laptop at the edge of his desk causing Mark to lean up and pull the laptop over. Taeil quickly sat down and immediately started getting to work. 

Mark let out a groan, then stretched his arms and feet, “You are seriously going to work on it right now,” Taeil nodded in response. Mark rolled his eyes, then turned towards Lucas, who had just sat down with his laptop. He watched as the other immediately opened the laptop and started typing vigorously on the keyboard. Mark pouted his lip, then leaned over to get a better look of Lucas’s screen. His curiosity immediately faded when he saw what was on the screen, and a smile grew on his face. He was on a game website. Go figures, Mark thought. Which resulted in him opening up a game on his laptop as well. He’d much rather be playing a game than be working. They had several days to finish it anyway.

As he began to play the game he had remembered about the gamer club thing he had mentioned to Lucas last week, and immediately turned to Lucas again. He reached out, nudged the other, and just like last time, Lucas hummed in response. “Hey, why did you decide not to join the gamers club this year by the way? Isn’t that like, your thing?” Mark tilted his head slightly.

Lucas paused his game and looked over. He was silent for a few seconds, then let out a soft breath before speaking “Sometimes, your happiness is more important than your suffering,” He said with a little nod, before turning back to his game. 

Mark was taken aback a bit hearing Lucas’s response to why he didn’t join. It defiantly wasn’t something he was expecting to hear. Granted it wasn’t an exact answer, but he also swore he saw Lucas’s eyes waver, and he knew that it had to mean something deeper than the surface. He felt something was bothering Lucas, eating at him, but there was nothing he could do. It didn’t seem like the other wanted to talk any more than what he said, and Mark sure wasn’t going to try and get the other to talk. He was already surprised that he even said that. If something were bothering Mark like that, he probably would’ve lied, or ignored the question. He just hoped things would get better for him. He obviously wasn’t joining the gamers club for a reason, so maybe as he said, he’d be happier not joining. 

Mark looked back to his computer screen and read the large words “Game over” on the screen. He must have died as he gave his attention to Lucas. He let out a small sigh, then turned to face Taeil. He really wished he could shut the laptop lay his head down on his arms and just stare at Taeil, While slowly drifting to sleep for the next fifteen minutes, but if he closed his laptop that would be a dead giveaway he wasn’t working. Instead, he rested his cheek on the palm of his hand and watched as Taeil went from typing to browsing articles. Rather than drifting to sleep though he found himself studying every inch of Taeil. His face, his neck, his shoulders, and everything else he could see from his point of view. Taeil didn’t even seem to notice, or maybe he just used to Mark’s stares, Mark stared a lot, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the other was just accustomed to it. 

The teacher made an announcement with about two minutes left on the clock before lunch, and Mark suddenly regretted wasting his time the whole class period. The teacher began walking around checking where everyone was at on their project, and as she continued she was telling some students to stay after. Mark and Lucas being one of them. Taeil let a small laugh and smirked before sticking his tongue out at Mark. Everyone who was asked to stay were the students who didn’t get any work done. They were forced to stay in for lunch and get at least one paragraph done. 

Mark groaned, then reached out for Taeil as the other got up to leave for lunch, “Don’t leave me,” he begged.

“That's what you get,” Taeil laughed, “don’t worry, I’ll be back with some food, for now, get your work done,” Taeil smiled then left the room. 

After Taeil exited the classroom he silently wandered the hallway. He sure wasn’t use to this kind of feeling, being alone at lunch. Granted he would have stayed behind and sat there to be Mark’s moral support for the next 40 minutes, but he wasn’t going to sit on an empty stomach for the rest of the day. He planned on grabbing food and coming back anyway. 

He exited the building he was in and came into contact with the rough concrete beneath his feet. The weather was pretty nice that day, not too hot, just about right. He shoved his hands into his khaki pants and looked around curiously as he followed behind some other students on their way to lunch as well. He wasn’t too far from the cafeteria when suddenly he saw a familiar face. He tilted his head to get a better look and smiled to himself as he noticed it was Jungwoo. 

He was honestly just going to ignore the other despite his oddly attracted feelings for him, but right as he was about to go into the cafeteria he noticed the look on the other's face. He looked like he was in some sort of pain, and no one seemed to be around for him, so Taeil took a quick turn and headed his way. 

When Taeil reached the other, he just now he realized Jungwoo was in his PE clothes. Along with a large somewhat bloody knee injury. That must have been what was causing the pain. “Are you...okay?” Taeil asked, a little hesitant because they were still basically strangers, so he didn’t know how the other would react to his entrance. 

Jungwoo slowly looked up from his knee with a blank stare, but immediately gave Taeil a bright smile when he realized who it was. Taeil could hardly believe that Jungwoo was able to let out a smile like that while bleeding and in obvious pain. But at least he seemed to recognize Taeil.

“Yeah, uh. I’m fine I guess,” he said then looked at his scraped knee again. 

Taeil quickly sat down and pulled his backpack over his knees. He reached inside and pulled out a small first aid kit he often carried with him. The only reason he actually carried it with him was because of Mark. Mark often got hurt a lot while they were out, so he decided to carry one for him. He actually hadn’t had to use it for a long time, but it came in handy today, and he had to thank Mark for that. 

Jungwoo let out an immediate loud laugh at the sight of the first aid kit, and Taeil looked at him confused. He knew exactly though why the other was laughing. He was getting made fun of for caring such a thing around. Most people wouldn’t care. He let out a nervous laugh, “It’s not that funny, when I’m about to help you with it,” he was a little embarrassed. 

Jungwoo shook his head, and leaned forward on the bench while looking at Taeil with his bright smile, “No no, it's cute,” he said then turned away lowering his head. 

Taeil felt his cheeks get warm, but he quickly ignored that as he made eye contact with Jungwoos injury. He got up from the bench and squatted in front of Jungwoo’s knee. He pulled out a few things to help clean the wound and some ointment. “So how did this happen?” He said as he began cleaning the wound. 

Jungwoo took a deep sigh thinking back to the incident, “Well, as you can see by my PE clothes it happened during PE. Did Johnny mention I was clumsy? Yeah, I basically fell while doing some basic exercises,” He let out an embarrassed laugh. 

“How did you end up here and not the nurses,” Taeil looked up with concern.

Jungwoo looked down at Taeil, and gave a slight smile, “I uh,” he scratched the back of his neck, “I don’t like nurses, well more specifically doctors, but uh, they are both under that category. Basically, I won’t see a doctor unless it's absolutely necessary,” Gosh was Jungwoo embarrassed letting someone he barely knew, know something like this about him. As if he wasn’t already embarrassed. 

“Ahh,” Taeil said, as he continued to focus on cleaning the wound. A few seconds later he went to grab the ointment, then looked up at Jungwoo again, “This might sting,” he said with a comforting smile. 

Jungwoo nodded, “You don’t think that’s weird, you know that I’m 'afraid of doctors’,” he let out a soft laugh, but suddenly that was changed by a whimper as Taeil had applied the ointment. 

“Sorry,” Taeil mumbled, “and no, we all have things we are afraid of. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a lot of other people who are afraid of doctors,” he smiled as he lightly spread the ointment on.

Jungwoo slowly nodded his head while also getting used to the pain of the ointment. He stared down at Taeil, and a smile grew on his face again as he watched the other care for him, something he defiantly wasn’t use to. He didn’t have relationships like that with any of his friends, not that he relatively needed the attention, and caring for. He just really enjoyed this moment. 

Taeil stood up from his crouching position, then sat back down next to Jungwoo, “That should be good for now,” he said as he started packing the first aid kit away in his backpack.

Jungwoo glanced to his knee, then to Taeil, “Thank you, like seriously.”

A smile grew on Taeils face, “My pleasure. Oh, by the way, were you going to go inside for lunch?” He asked curiously. 

Jungwoo glanced around collecting his thoughts, “I uh, I was going to, but I felt like I was being a nuisance to others trying to get lunch because of my limping. I was supposed to meet up with my friends, but here I am,” he let out a soft chuckle. 

“Hey, I can go and get you something to eat. I’m not staying in the cafeteria anyway,” Taeil offered with a worried look. 

Jungwoo looked to him almost surprised at how much he seemed to care, especially since they still hardly knew each other “I appreciate it, but it's fine. I’ll text my friends right now, so you don’t need to bother,” he genuinely was thankful.

“Are you sure?” Taeil stood up from his seat. 

“Yeah, its fine,” Jungwoo gestured towards the cafeteria for Taeil to leave, “I owe you one,” he said before Taeil turned away and went into the cafeteria. 

By the time Taeil came out of the cafeteria with both his and Mark’s lunch, Johnny and another friend were by Jungwoo’s side looking at him with a bit of concern. He was happy knowing he had someone to be there for him. He kinda regretted not getting the chance to talk to him a bit more, but he was sure they’d cross paths again. 

Taeil walked back into the classroom and was surprised to see that Mark was already finished, with his laptop away. He tossed Mark’s lunch on his desk surprising the other, then sat down. 

Mark looked up at Taeil with his eyes widened at the abrupt sound of his food being dropped on his desk, then glared at Taeil, “What took you so damn long?” He said as he grabbed his sandwich wrapped in plastic and start to open it. 

Taeil squinted his eyes confused, “What do you mean? Its-“ his own eyes widen as he noticed the time on the clock. He didn’t realize how much time had passed when he was with Jungwoo. He gave Mark a nervous look, “Sorry, the lines were long. Eat up.”

Yuta glanced at his phone as he stared at the last twelve texts he sent his boyfriend Doyoung. He bounced his knee nervously as he typed in another text while biting his nails on his free hand. He sent the text, then glanced at Johnny who was joking around with Jungwoo next to him. “Guys,” he waited for a response, but it just got Johnny joking even louder instead. 

“Damn, Jungwoo. I really can’t believe you ate shit during PE, doing an exercise!” He laughed and pointed at Jungwoo, who was now rolling his eyes. 

“Well maybe if you didn’t skip class-“ Jungwoo began.

“Guys! Shut up!” Yuta interrupted feeling irritated. He got their attention though, immediately, “Should I go see Doyoung?” He asked in a calmer tone.

“You should've already,” Johnny spoke, causing Jungwoo to push him on the shoulder. 

“Don’t listen to Johnny. And Yes, I think you should, heck at this point even I’m worried.” Jungwoo said as he leaned forward.

“What do you think I should say?” Yuta continued to stare at his phone worried. 

“Just talk and sort things out, don’t go in assuming anything, or pointing fingers. We all know that Doyoung hates that,” Jungwoo honestly didn’t even know exactly what had happened. The four were hanging out when the two went outside for a bit, and not much time later Doyoung came storming in through the door, and out the front. He and Johnny went out to Yuta, to see what was up. He was sure it had something to do with Yuta’s temper problem. 

Yuta walked up to Doyoungs apartment, well Doyoung’s older brother, Gongmyung's apartment. Doyoung started living with his older brother just this summer. He remembered how happy Doyoung was knowing he could finally leave his parents house. He walked up to the front door and knocked. Not surprised, Doyoung’s brother answered the door. He gave Yuta a soft smile, then said he was surprised he hadn’t come earlier than he did, which made Yuta feel even shittier than he already did. 

“Yeah, go ahead. He should be up in his room,” Gongmyung said gesturing towards Doyoung’s room down a hall. 

Yuta stood in front of the door for a bit to long. He couldn’t stop thinking of how mad, and angry Doyoung would be. If they’d just end up fighting again. But he was ready to take hits from Doyoung, then tell him how sorry he was, tell him how much he missed him and loved him. He was just afraid the other really didn’t want to see him or even forgive him. 

He placed one of his hands on the door, then lowered his head closing his eyes tight. He could do this, make things right again. It wasn’t like them to be like this for long anyway. Yuta held the door nob to the door, then twisted it open. 

It didn’t even take seconds after Yuta opened the door, for Doyoung to have pulled him inside and have him up against the wall inches away from each other. Yuta was confused, as he held his hands on Doyoungs waist. Something he missed so very much. 

“Doyoung?” He let out softly.

Upon hearing that, Doyoung darted for Yuta’s lips and pressed sweetly against the others. The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but it didn’t take much longer before it turned passionate and rougher due to the lack of intimacy the past couple days. Yuta’s grip on Doyoung’s waste became tighter, as he leaned in to kiss deeper. Doyoung let out a soft moan in between kisses, as Yuta’s hands began to roam. His arms around Yuta’s neck became looser as they moved a bit from their position. In between breaths, Doyoung let out a, “I missed you so fucken much,” Yuta responding almost immediately, “I missed you to baby,” then continued to kiss each other. 

However after a few seconds Yuta suddenly broke the kiss, “Doyoung,” he panted out, Doyoung catching his breath as well, “Shouldn’t we talk about this?”

Doyoung bit his lip, his stare intense. Yuta could tell he was thinking of what to say, “There’s nothing to talk about, I overreacted.”

Yuta licked his lips, “But why didn’t you respond to my messages?”

“I was waiting for you, I wanted to see how long It took you to come find me. And you took way to damn long,” he smirked at the end, and with a blink of the eye, Doyoung was up against Yuta again, kissing him deeply. 

The two were making out again, and it didn’t take seconds for them to get back into the grove. They slowly made their way towards Doyoung’s bed and stopped in front at the edge of it. Doyoung began kissing down Yuta’s neck while pulling off Yuta’s uniform jacket. Yuta knew exactly where this was going, and he defiantly didn’t want to stop. He missed Doyoung so much, and Doyoung obviously missed Yuta as well. He threw all his thoughts about everything else to the back of his mind. He was now focused on Doyoung, just Doyoung. 

It didn’t take much longer for Doyoung to push Yuta down onto his bed. He crawled on top of Yuta, straddling his hips. He looked down at Yuta with such a seductive look, something Yuta always found himself falling into. 

Doyoung leaned down and got close to Yuta’s ear, and spoke with a soft, yet seductive tone, “I need you.”


End file.
